Banking

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida in Stuart has acquired First Growth Capital, a firm that handles receivables funding.

European private equity firm Permira has agreed to buy German debt collection agency GFKL from Advent, the companies said Monday.

Debt buyer PRA Group announced Monday it will expand into the German debt purchase market.

The Bancorp in Wilmington, Del., has again delayed the filing of its 2014 annual report and is also late in submitting its first-quarter results, it said in a news release Friday.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the financial inequalities exposed by the Baltimore riots and whether the changes to Dodd-Frank proposed in Sen. Richard Shelby's regulatory relief plan go too far.

Nomura Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland should pay $806 million in damages to government-owned mortgage companies over misleading securities pitches, a federal housing agency told a judge.

The owner of an Ohio-based loan administrator, accused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of deceptive marketing, says he is the victim of a misguided lawsuit by the agency.

Hamilton State Bancshares in Hoschton, Ga., has agreed to acquire the $130 million-asset Highland Financial Services in Marietta, Ga.

So far, Washington has generally smiled on tech-driven lenders such as Lending Club and OnDeck. But many in the fast-growing industry are now bracing for closer scrutiny.

A proposal issued Friday by the Department of Education would tighten rules on the types of deal that colleges can enter into with banks to disburse federally guaranteed loans to students.

A $10.2 million settlement of a class action involving JPMorgan Chase has stoked the interest of banking industry and consumer groups in new rules for placing robo-calls.

The FTC has settled a case against an operation that allegedly used deception and threats to convince people to pay debts they did not owe.

Heartland Financial USA in Dubuque, Iowa, has agreed to buy First Scottsdale Bank in Arizona.

Visa will increase how much it reimburses banks to issue new cards compromised by merchants' data breaches, after some banks complained that the card network's payments were too low.

The Miami area's economy is on the rebound and expanding beyond sun and fun. A new influx of money, investors and customers with international ties could feed local banks' balance sheets and top-line growth.

NCUA announced Friday it approved a federal charter for another credit union — the Seneca Nation of Indians FCU — which will serve members of the Seneca Nation Indian tribe in western New York state.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency provided more details Friday about key features for the new single security that will be issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The multifamily market is heating up as apartment owners and investors refinance in a rush to lock in low interest rates, but caps on government-backed lending programs are threatening to disrupt momentum.

Computer Sciences Corp. rose as much as 7.1 percent after Reuters reported the technology consulting company plans to split in two.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.